Agenda item

Committee considered a detailed report, presented by the Section 151 Officer, which provided information on how the Committee had complied with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Position Statement: Audit Committees in Local Authorities and Police 2022.

During 2022, CIPFA updated its 2018 Position Statement to include new expectations in England following the Redmond Review. All authorities and police bodies were encouraged to use the publication to review and develop their arrangements in accordance with the Position Statement.

Audit Committees were a key component of an authority’s governance framework. Their purpose was to provide an independent and high-level focus on the adequacy of governance, risk, and control arrangements. The Committee’s role in ensuring that there was sufficient assurance over governance, risk and control gave greater confidence to all those charged with governance that those arrangements were effective.

In a local authority, full Council was the body charged with governance. The Audit Committee may be delegated some governance responsibilities but would be accountable to full Council. The Committee had oversight of both internal and external audit, together with the financial and governance reports, helping to ensure that there were adequate arrangements in place for both internal challenge and public accountability.

The Committee should include co-opted independent members in accordance with the appropriate legislation. Where there was no legislative direction, CIPFA recommended that each authority should include at least 2 co-opted independent members to provide appropriate technical expertise.

The specific responsibilities of Audit Committee included maintenance of governance, risk, and control arrangements; financial and governance reporting; establishing appropriate and effective arrangements for audit and assurance.

During 2024/25, Audit Committee Members received a range of reports - some were routine reports for monitoring, others were to provide information and guidance to help Members of the Audit Committee carry out their role effectively.

During 2024/25, the Committee received the following reports:

·       External Auditor’s annual report 2022/23;

·       Report of the External Auditor, Audit Strategy Memorandum;

·       Report of the Internal Auditor, Summary of progress on the Internal Audit plan– quarterly reports;

·       Implementation of Internal Audit recommendations – ½ yearly report;

·       Internal Audit Consortium – annual report 2023/24;

·       Strategic Risk Register and Partnership Arrangements report;

·       Forvis Mazars report to those charged with Governance (audit completion report);

·       Assessment of Going Concern Status;

·       Review of the Internal Audit Charter;

·       Report of the External Auditor – External Audit progress report July 2024;

·       BDC Statement of Accounts 2023/24;

·       Annual Governance Statement and Local Code of Corporate Governance 2023/24;

·       Accounting Policies 2024/25;

·       Report of the Internal Auditor, Internal Audit plan;

·       Report of the Internal Auditor, Global Internal Audit Standards;

·       Annual report of the Committee;

·       Local Audit Delays – Update;

·       Member Training 2024/25 - Member discussion.

Audit Committee’s Main Achievements/Outcomes

The Committee aimed to add value through its activity and in particular had:

·       Scrutinised the statement of accounts prior to approval thereby ensuring that they are an accurate reflection of the Council’s finances.

·       Reviewed the Code of Corporate Governance and approved the Annual Governance Statement to ensure it is a true and fair view of the Council’s governance and risk management arrangements.

·       Reviewed the strategic risk register to ensure that risks are being appropriately mitigated thus providing additional assurance that risk is being managed appropriately.

Moved by Councillor Catherine Tite and seconded by Councillor Cathy Jeffery

RESOLVED that the report be noted.